Spain: Spain's prime minister called on the banned Basque separatist party Batasuna yesterday to denounce Eta violence if it wished to take part in regional elections next month.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero made the demand as the armed separatist group Eta claimed responsibility for eight attacks in the first two months of this year in a statement to the Basque newspaper Gara, its usual mouthpiece.
Mr Zapatero, reacting to opposition calls for the government to respond to media allegations that it had held secret talks with Batasuna, said no conversations would take place unless the party distanced itself from Eta.
"'We condemn terrorism' - those are the three words they have to say in order to be listened to and to participate [ in the elections]," Mr Zapatero told a rally in the Basque region.
Elections to the Basque parliament are due on April 17th and campaigning has been watched closely since Basque premier Juan José Ibarretxe proposed a plan for virtual independence, and Madrid rejected it. A strong mandate for Mr Ibarretxe's nationalist coalition could force the Spanish government to negotiate.
Eta, ranked as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, said it was responsible for a car bomb in the wealthy Basque town of Getxo in January.
It also said it had placed a powerful bomb that exploded on February 9th near a conference centre in Madrid where Spanish king Juan Carlos and Mexican president Vicente Fox were later due to open an art exhibition. - (Reuters)